Cspoonquilt

      Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 28, 29 & 30   I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to muppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/   Day 28 - Skill to improve... Hand quilting!  I have not hand quilted anything for a very long time.  I think hand quilting is one of those skills that if you don't use it the skill fades,  I need to exercise my fingers and get back into it!  I like hand quilting I find it very relaxing  but I'm so slow at it!  I The barriers to practice are two fold:  I like to quilt on a stand alone frame and that takes up a lot of room so I have to find the time and space to do that.  My general quilting process is also more quantity oriented than 'authentic' oriented so using a Longarm machine to quilt suits those quantity needs better than hand quilting.  Maybe 2022 will be the year to get out the frame and hand quilt ...

    Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 25, 26, 27     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/       Day 25 - I have a massive amount of scraps!  I keep them organized in bankers boxes based on Genre' mostly .  Here's my  '30's  box o' scraps,  Other boxes include Kids's fabrics, denim, light flannel, and dark flannel scraps just to name a few.  Smaller collections of scraps go in plastic baskets that I can stack and see into so I don't need to label them.  Red scraps on the right and the basket on the upper left is all Valentine scraps / fabrics.   A lot of my UFO's are organized like this as well and often the scraps co-mingle with the UFO's.  (Sounds kinda nasty but it's all very innocent).  Here's  how they are stored: I know it does not look super tidy but I can generally find what...

  Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 24     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/       Catch up on Days 22, 23, and 24 Day 22-  I like all kinds of music and  listen to all kinds of music. But when I really want to concentrate I listen to Baroque music by people Bach, Handel and Vivaldi.  I've been told that something about the rhythm of that music helps ones concentration and it's just really beautiful music. Day 23-  I generally do not prewash.  I figure most new fabrics these days are really pretty color fast and the shrinkage is really minimal.  So why waste time and energy laundering and ironing extra?   If it's one off those fabrics that looks like it might run I'll take a little snip and test it and if it runs I'll will wash it in Synthrapole (sp) which is a liquid soap that fixes dye.  But I've...

  Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 21     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/     Top 5 gift ideas I really like to make  gifts for my family and friends at Holiday times.  Quilts are nice if it's a special occasion, new baby, wedding Birthday etc.  But for the Winter Holidays I usually make small items like pot holders, Aprons, hats, mufflers, and caps.  On Dec. 16 I posted a picture of a small wall hanging I made for my son this year and Dec, 18th a cap for his wife.  Those were easy 'cause they asked for those things.  We don't really do lavish gift giving in my family so little home made things are perfect to say "Happy Holidays and I love you!".   Here's a little crib quilt that I recently finished quilting for a friend.  I'll bind it and it will be donated to the  local neonatal ward.  I used ...

  Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 19     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/     On the design Wall... I often have more than one project on my design wall.  Such is the case today.  I removed the center of my Orphan Block project which is all sewn together, 'cause I needed space for this little project in the middle.  I'm still struggling with the Orphan Block borders so I thought starting this little Challenge Project might provide a distraction. The Challenge theme is "Monterey Bay Life".  Anything to do with life in the Monterey Bay, It's rather broad.  I bought this Beach Scene fabric recently so I thought I'd try to incorporate that into the design. The perspective is really off but I was determined to use that fabric! I even went to the Beach yesterday to get some inspiration... Where are the people!  LOL Anywa...

Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 18     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/     If I could take a class with Nancy Crow I would like to do that.  I have heard from people who have taken classes with Nancy Crow that she is a very challenging teacher.  I think at this point a good kick-in-the-pants to Up My Game would be a great experience!  I did visit her web site at some point in the past year or so but her classes were all booked way in advance, cost A LOT and it's far to go ( she's in Ohio and I'm in California).  Kind of a long way to travel for a good kick in the pants!  LOL   But maybe I should really look into it... Another short post.  More random photos to entertain ... My Daughter in-law is a Nurse Anesthetist and she says when your all dressed up for surgery the only way to tell one  person from an...

Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 17     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/    Favorite Sewlebrity ...Would probably be Gwen Marston.  I was lucky enough to see her speak in person a number of times and take several of her classes.  She was a natural speaker with a great sense of humor always able to     ad-lib and her quilts she shared were so wonderful and varied.  She was a great teacher!  She always had a stack of mini quilts (mostly hand quilted) to illustrate whatever design idea she was teaching and she was always encouraging to her students.  Gwen's style certainly influence me as a quilter.   Her Liberated style really allowed me to grow and experiment in my own quilt journey.   Well another short post.  I will add some more random photos for your visual entertainment... Here are ...

Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 16     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/  I've been pretty busy the last couple of days so I've missed a few days.  Here's a brief Catch-up: Day 14 - My Stash ...Is large!  I like all kinds of quilts and I make all kinds of quilt so I have all kinds of fabrics.  Reproductions, Asian, Batiks, modern, solids brights, darks etc. Right now my stash is a big mess.  It would take awhile to tidy it up so I'm not going to show any pictures, sorry.  I always say if I made a quilt everyday for the rest of my life I probably would not run out of fabric!  But it's like collecting stamps if you see it and you like it you gotta have it for your 'collection' LOL Day 15- My earliest sewing memory My earliest sewing memory was probably around age 5 or 6 and I was sewing Doll clothes with my sister (2 years olde...

Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 13     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/ Today's topic - My Least Favorite Color  If you asked me a couple of years ago "what's your least favorite color?'  I probably would have said a color I call 'Yucky Brown'.   I had a huge stack of Orphan blocks that fit into this ugly Color category.  But I felt obliged to work with the blocks since they had been given to me for the purpose of making donation quilts.  Nothing like a little personal challenge to open ones own bias! I found in the course of playing with these "ugly' blocks that there were many shades of 'yucky brown' but by grouping some of these blocks together the contrast was not bad.   Here's my first attempt: Well it might not win any ribbons at the County Fair but it makes a decent lap quilt for donation and I saved...

 Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 12     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/ Day 12- My Favorite color I don't really think I have a favorite color anymore.  If you asked me when I was five I would  not hessitate to say PINK!   I probably would have liked this quilt A Lot! When I was in middle school I probably would have said Purple, green and blue. In High School things got a little muddled (it was the 60's) all I wore was blue jeans and work shirts... I suppose now I pretty much use all colors in my quilt making depending on the intended use of the quilt, who it's going to or whatever design idea I'm reaching for. I probably still use more cool colors than warm but if you look at the quilt I'm working on now (see yesterdays post) e ven that is changing. I do like working with modern color schemes, everything looks great with white or...

Blog O' Day Challenge - day 11     I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/  Most Influential Class When I first got really serious about quilting in the mid 1990's I took every class I could fit in my schedule..  I took a lot of classes mostly to learn techniques , not necessarily to make whatever the quilt,  that was the end product;   It became clear pretty quick that if I kept going like that I would end up with a lot of UFOs.  So I decided to take the same basket of fabric to a number of classes so that all the different things I was making would coordinate in Color. During this time I was lucky enough to take a 2 day workshop with Ruth McDowell called "Planning for Piecing".  She reviewed a whole list of techniques that she uses to make her incredible Art quilts and then let use loose to apply the techniques to whatever d...

  I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/ Top 5 Books... Weeellllll,  I couldn't really narrow it down to just five books but I've tried to organize some of my favorite authors / books into a fairly brief overview.   This book was the first quilt book I ever bought.  It was first published by Marshall Cavendish Limited in the UK in 1970 and then in the US by Exeter Books in 1977.  This printing is from 1980.  For it's time it is a very thorough exploration of the world of quilting.  I still visit it fairly often to look at certain pictures like this one.  I don't know if this was in the 1970 printing but I have seen it in a 1977 edition and it was there.  In any case I think it's an incredibly beautiful and innovative quilt for any time! I would have to say this next author / teacher was probably the most influential for ...

I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up; https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/ Good Morning!  I hope you all are well and safe and ready to sew!!  I think even after all these years of sewing my favorite tip is still boils down to one principle.  Cut a little bigger-sew-and trim to size.  I'm not a really fussy sewer on any level but I do pride myself on being an accurate piecer.  And you'd be surprised how much  goes into that. For a couple of years I coordinated the Block of the Month for my local Guild and I posted instructions for most every Block.  Here's a post from a Block that I featured tips on accurate piecing.  Have fun! https://cspoonquilt.blogspot.com/2015/06/june-bom-accurate-piecing-continuing.html Here's a pic of the Block in the finished top: Have a great Day, see you tomorrow!  cw

 I just discovered this Challenge today  https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/   I am woefully out of step with my blogging habits but I was inspired by the idea of the Challenge and happy to find that I could still link-up.  So I'm going to give it a try and since I'm already 8 days behind I thought I do a quick 'catch up' post based on the first 8 days of prompts.  Here goes... Introduction I like all kinds of quilts and I make all kinds of quilts but I am easily distracted so sometimes there are long stretches of no activity!   A quick tour of my blog History shows ample evidence of that!  LOL   But seriously,  Quilting in all it's forms gives me great pleasure. creative satisfaction and comfort!    My Sewing Space... IS A MESS !!!!   But I am so grateful to have a whole big room all my own!!!!   When I got my first Longarm I'm pretty sure the main reason my Husband had the back ...